Chapter 8 - Healing
While the legal battle raged on for the next few weeks, the real work was happening back at our house. Winning against Carol felt good, but it didn't instantly erase the look on Ethan's face when he asked if he was really my family.
Marianne and I sat the kids down on the living room floor a few nights later. We ordered their favorite pizza. We let them stay up late. “I want to talk about Easter,” I said gently.
Lily looked down at her lap. Ethan crossed his arms, trying to look tough. “What Aunt Carol said was wrong,” I told them. “She said it because she is a broken, unhappy person who cares more about paper money than real love. But she doesn't get to define our family.”
Marianne reached out and pulled Ethan into a hug. He resisted for a second, then melted against her shoulder. “I chose you,” Marianne whispered into his hair. “I chose you, and then Daddy chose us. That makes you more loved, not less. We built this family on purpose.”
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“Are we still going to see Grandma and Grandpa?” Lily asked quietly. “Yes,” I smiled. “In fact, Grandpa wants to take you fishing this weekend. And Grandma bought you a new Easter dress, just because.”
Slowly, the tension left their little bodies. The wounds would take time to heal, but the infection was gone. We had protected them. We had shown them that we would burn the world down before we let anyone make them feel unloved.
